Words

Random Acts of Violence

I was at my local market this evening when an “incident” occurred. Right by the checkout stand nearest the exit, about 15 feet away from the strawberries. A man and a woman began shoving each other around, quite roughly, and she yelled, “He’s after my purse!” This woman was 200 pounds if she was an ounce, and the man probably had 30 pounds on her. Within seconds, the off-duty Cleveland Heights cop who was the early evening security guard jumped in.

The cop was probably 5 foot 7- or 8-inches, and about 160 pounds. He was built – but he was small. He didn’t even flinch, he joined in the struggle between the other two. And this is when I froze. I couldn’t understand what was happening. At first glance, it seemed that a very large man was shoving a very large woman around, going for her purse. But the cop went for her bag, too, and seemed to be trying to hold both of them down, all 450 pounds of angry, shoving flesh. Looking at him  I thought, “Just like the firemen charging into the Twin Towers. That’s real training.” Scared customers moved back, and I just stood by the lemons, wondering what I should do.

The big man did not say a word, he looked like he was trying to hold the woman, not hurt her. I used to do that. Hold. Not hurt. The woman kept yelling, “Let go of my purse!” She was trying to hit both men, and landed quite a few blows. She was not only big, but crazy. And crazy brings an incredible amount of adrenaline. She could have really hurt them.

The little guy? He was muscular. He also knew how to move. He dodged her punches much better than the big guy, who just huddled over during the pounding, grabbing for the huge purse. The woman tried to position the bag between her legs while pummeling the big guy; that’s when the cop got purchase on her bag.  She tried to kick him, and this made her slip against the wall, both men still trying to hold her. All three wound up on the ground. The only voice coming out of the three of them was the woman. “Give me my bag, damnit!”

I just stood by the lemons, mesmerized. I couldn’t understand what was happening, and I was in that violence-driven slow motion world of “what should I do”. See, when you are within 20 feet of extreme violence, the important thing to do is figure out what to do. Running may be a very bad choice. I learned that at age 12. Jumping in may also be a bad choice. You need to assess before you act, especially if you can’t fight. This whole thing really took me back….I grew up with random violence, and this was my usual reaction. I froze. And thought in slow motion while watching the chaos…

The problem I had today was I couldn’t figure out which one needed to be held. At first it looked like a big man had attacked a big woman near the checkout stand by the strawberries. But then it seemed like she was the crazy one. And the cop didn’t even try to stop the man or the woman – he seemed to be going after the woman’s purse. Not even after her, but her purse. While I was wondering if I should call 911, I noticed I was the only woman near the action. A few men were watching, like me, and all the women had fled to the rear of the store, to the safety of the milk and yogurt. Again, I thought this was very interesting…

Then, two police in full uniform (with clubs drawn) came in, and seemed to get the situation under control. I finally moved from my protective perch by the lemons to the nearest checkout.

The young man running the register reflexively asked me how I was. “Better now” I joked. He glared. I don’t’ think he grew up with this kind of thing.

On my way out of the store I realized there were at least 6 cops near the exit. There was a tussle by the “valet door” (where they load your car if you tip them). A woman dressed in white was leaning against the wall, facing the valet exit. She had That Look.

The tussle continued, and I realized the big woman was in handcuffs, fighting the six cops. I asked the woman with the look if she knew what had happened. “That woman over there,” she said nodding to the struggle by the doors, “tried to steal something. She was here with her kids. I used to be a social worker and now I’m worried about the kids.” “Her kids still here?” I asked.  “Yeah, over there” she nodded towards a spot by customer service where all I could see were 4 large cops. The kids were in there somewhere. 10 cops in all… plus that brave, strong little cop. Eleven cops. And one huge, crazy lady. They were just a match for her.

A well put-together man walked past us with his bags. “Do you two know what happened?” I didn’t look up. The woman in white didn’t respond. He didn’t have the look.

“The sad thing is, I don’t think this is the first time these kids have seen this,” the woman in white said. I nodded. Then, on the way out, I said, “The sadder thing is this won’t be the last time..” I glanced over at the six cops, and the woman in handcuffs. She was still trying to kick and fight. “She’s still fighting.” said the woman. I nodded. “She will be like that for a while”,  I said. The woman in white said, “Yes.” in that tired, social worker voice.

We left the store.

On Cooking, Part 2: The myth that cooking takes too much time

This is part 2 of a 3 part article. Go to Pt 1 

There are two strong arguments against cooking; “It’s too time-consuming” and “It’s too expensive”.  Let’s start with the “time-consuming” issue.

Cooking takes as long or as short as you want it to take. Before anyone responds with the “parents are exhausted”, “between my commute and my job I’m never home long enough to cook”, “no one ever showed me” litany, please. Take a breath and just bear with me for a minute. We are the beneficiaries (or dupes) of an incredibly successful, long-running marketing campaign against home cooking.

The convenience food industry began real growth in the 1950′s and took hold in American culture in the 1960s. A combination of the rapid expansion of industrial agriculture combined with greater disposable income among consumers laid the groundwork for the convenience food industry to replace cooking in the home with pre-made, or processed foods. The ground was laid, but it took the highly sophisticated marketing industry to sell us on the idea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at who was targeted: women. Specifically, moms. The soothing “You deserve a break today”  was combined with the reassuring “Soup is good food”, just in case women started to feel guilty about that “break” they were taking. Brands such as Betty Crocker, Jello, Lipton’s, and Pillsbury created “social networks” of housewives using their products in inventive new ways (the Pillsbury Bake-Off is in it’s 45th year). Networks were created to build loyalty and trust while the incessant mantra of “this is so much easier than cooking from scratch” played in the background. We were lulled away from making our own food by marketing. This seduction has gone on, virtually unchallenged, for 60 years. Even the social consciousness that has grown up around food in the last 10 years, led by figures such as Michael Pollan and Jamie Oliver, has not broken our trust in the message that cooking is time-consuming and difficult.

In recent years, food industry marketers have massaged the message to isolate their critics. Their message is, in essence, “cooking from scratch is an upper-class activity”. In other words, only the wealthy have the time and the disposable income to buy unprocessed food. They even have the very charming “working class” spokesmodels Rachael Ray and Paula Deen to front their products to the principle demographic of the processed food industry: overworked moms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let me first dispel the myth that cooking takes too much time and energy. Day-to-day cooking consists of a repertoire of techniques and dishes that range from short and simple to longer dishes you create only for special events. And all the medium-length ones in-between (which are usually “stock-up” foods like stews or soups that can be made in bulk and stored for easy reheating later). Most of what you need to know to be a long-term home cook is found in the simple techniques of steaming, broiling, sauteing, and simple chopping. I must note, I’m speaking about cooking, not baking. These are two very different activities. (well, I think I’ve got another article to add to my growing list!)

Yes, even the shortest recipes will take longer to make and longer to clean up than 4 frozen dinners, but not by much. Start slowly, just cook a few meals a week, make some simple, manageable food rules and stick to them. Just do what you can do until it becomes a habit, and then up the ante. You’re aiming for armloads of short, fast techniques, coupled with some standard stock-up recipes and save the fancy stuff for once or twice a year. Here’s an incredibly simple meal that takes almost no time to prepare:

Blanched Snap or Snow Peas

Trim the hard ends (and pull the strings off the Snaps) off the peas (a pound or so will feed 4). I usually watch tv while I trim veggies. Put about an inch of water, lightly salted, in a 10 inch frying pan. Bring the water to a boil. Have a medium sized bowl standing by, filled with cold or iced water. Once the water is boiling, add the peas, then stir and watch them. The second they turn bright green (this is usually less than a minute), drain the peas in a sieve or colander and immediately immerse the peas in the cold water to stop cooking. If you wish, return the peas to the empty pan, place on medium heat and stir until the excess water cooks off. Or, just drain them. I serve them with a little salt and pepper. Some people like butter or olive oil on them as well (make sure the water is either all drained off or cooked off if you do this last step).

Simple Green Salad:

Hand tear a variety of lettuce greens (red lettuce, green leaf, romaine, etc), about 220 grams or 4 cups. Cut up fresh tomatoes (preferably in the summer, only). Add 1 tablespoon of wine vinegar and two tablespoons of olive oil and toss with clean hands or a fork (if you must). Add about 1 tablespoon of grated parmesan for more flavor if you wish.

Classic Sole Meunière

Worried about expense? This meal is in the range of affordable, but remember, this post is only about speed. Next post I’ll tackle the issue of economics; first, the tragedy of food deserts, and then, the myth of fresh foods being expensive.

And hang out on Epicurious, making sure you read the comments

This is part 2 of a 3 part article. Go to Pt 1